Field of the Invention
This invention relates to systems and methods for reducing delays associated with quarantined files.
Background of the Invention
Scanning for viruses is routinely performed on data stores to protect data and prevent system damage or corruption. In many cases, if an antivirus product detects a virus associated with a file and the virus cannot be removed or fixed, the file is quarantined until the file can be replaced with a previous good copy of the file. In some cases, replacing the quarantined file may require retrieving an earlier version of the file from a backup, such as from a backup on disk or tape, and then restoring the file to the server where the quarantined file is located. This can require a significant amount of time (e.g., several hours to multiple days) and the file may be inaccessible during this period. For example, where a backup is located on tape, restoring a file may require locating a tape cartridge where the backup copy is stored (which may be offsite), transporting the tape cartridge to a tape drive or library where the backup copy can be retrieved from the tape, loading the tape cartridge into the tape drive or library, and retrieving the backup copy. The backup copy may then need to be copied over to the storage system where the quarantined file is located.
In some cases, the backup copy may contain data that is older than a last known good copy of the data prior to infection with the virus. In other words, the backup copy may require the user to revert to a version that is significantly older than what the user may prefer or what is necessary. This is because various intermediate versions of the file may have been replaced or deleted in the period between backups. For example, if a file is backed up every week but the file is updated on average once a day, intermediate versions of the file between backups may be lost. Restoring a file to an intermediate version may be preferred to restoring it to older versions.
In view of the foregoing, what are needed are systems and to prevent delays associated with restoring quarantined files. Ideally, such systems and methods will enable files to be restored to a last known good copy of the files.